THE GOOD NEWS: The global uncertainty experienced within the financial service industry in 2008 prompted changes in regulations, requiring financial institutions to hold higher levels of capital. Then more changes came again in 2016. Capital is important because it is a measure of the strength of a company – the higher the capital, the stronger the company. When the changes in regulations came in 2013 we had capital of 10.94%. The change in regulations required Weyburn Credit Union to increase its capital to 13.21% by 2019. With a strong capital building plan in place, we are projecting to achieve this result ahead of schedule. That means we have built a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable Credit Union, and done so quicker and more effectively than many other financial institutions.

THE BAD NEWS: Each year, our Board is given a choice: to share profits with our members or to reinvest profits back into our Credit Union to increase capital. Typically, we have chosen to share profits back with our members because it’s what we believe in. It’s one of the things that make us different from a bank; our profits are invested in Main Street, not Wall Street. However, with the changes in regulations we mentioned, we had to put that belief aside temporarily in order to meet increased capital requirements. That’s why we have made the tough but responsible decision to once again suspend our Rebates and Bonuses Program for another year.

THE BETTER NEWS: If everything goes as planned, we are optimistic that this will be the last year we will be required to suspend our Rebates and Bonuses Program. We are hopeful that we will be back to sharing profits with members next year - better and stronger than ever. Some have asked if this decision was made due to the rebrand and renovations we are undertaking, and the answer is absolutely not. These initiatives have been planned years in advance. Furthermore, these initiatives have not affected our level of profitability; we have maintained strong profitability throughout these initiatives. The difference is, our regulators have supported us in using these profits to increase our capital position instead of paying them out to members through patronage, but the profits are still there. We assure you that we aren’t moving away from our corporate values; we still believe in sharing profits with our members. This is only a temporary measure to achieve our required level of capital. As soon as it is financially responsible to do so, we will be returning to profit sharing once again. If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. You can contact the following executive managers: